This blog documents my MBA student life at Ryerson University, Canada (2010-2012). It was an attempt to demystify the MBA experience, help understand MBA topics & encourage MBA wannabes. I have a Pre-MBA blog about B-School application process (and a few other blogs) as well. I used to blog actively in the past and interact with readers regularly, but life got very busy after my MBA. Good luck. Take care. Cheers! Gerry.

Types of Co-Workers on the job and in MBA Business School / Types of Fellow MBA Classmates too?

Apart from all the good ones, there are other types of colleagues / fellow classmates, potentially:

The Sneaky Underminer: A person who sees you as a threat - who feels insecure or jealous, tries to put you down

The Deadline Misser: A person who is always late at submitting work, and keeps giving excuses

The Saboteur: A person who lies, who over-promises and under-delivers, people who brag, but their stories never add up

The Chronic Complainer: A person who is a whiner, fault finder, blame-fixer, a negative person who keeps saying "this will not work" / "we already tried that", these are killjoys

The Overshadower: An overachiever who always tries to on-up on you - but in reality, the person may be insecure or lack in self-confidence

The Slacker: A person who gets work done by others by playing dumb and seeking help / assistance all the time. They may not be dumb in reality, but may only be playing dumb

The Kiss-Up: A person who uses compliments to build relationships, but may not provide honest information / feedback --> Instead, people should provide opinions that are respected, whether they are accepted or not

The Leap-Before-You-Looker: A high energy multi-tasking colleague whose work may or my not be 100% perfect, who may not plan very well

The Drama-Queen: A colleague who over-reacts and exaggerates

The Lurker: A colleague who keeps hovering around you

For details, please read the full article at the link above.

Some solutions for these problems:

Improve conversation skills

Involve in small talk

Use ice breakers

Make people be early to complete assignments - by using small rewards

Keep correspondence in writing when possible - document as many things as you can, so that there is no confusion or misinterpretation, and there is also evidence available when you need it

Be optimistic - do not let a killjoy break the team spirit

Do not let anyone overshadow you - claim credit for your own work, and enjoy your successes

Do not always cover up anyone's laziness - let the slacker fall flat on his face, if he is not working hard

Forge real relationships, and encourage real, honest feedback

Collaborate with people who tend to miss deadlines or not follow up on work assigned / who fizzle out after the initial energy burst

Do fact checking - do not take anyone's opinions on face value

Be low-key when necessary

Do not get too personal or too gossipy with colleagues - stay professional - too much talk can kill productivity

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DISCLAIMER

This is a personal blog. It contains my opinions. This is fun blog, meant to entertain. I make no claims of accuracy, completeness, or official representation. Some content was written by me and some re-posted with original links and references. Email me for queries / clarifications.